


Capture

by Scriberat



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX
Genre: M/M, light depiction of gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29580003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scriberat/pseuds/Scriberat
Summary: Kuja ends up in a secret lab by "invitation." What happens next catapults him and Sephiroth both into the deeper mysteries of the Jenova Project.
Relationships: Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)/Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII)
Kudos: 4





	1. Capture

**Author's Note:**

> meant for a one-shot, now it's developed.

Kuja smiled as he exited Sephiroth’s room, one threshold away from the arms of the man he had fallen for. Sephiroth had a hand on the door, prepared to shut it, as their time together was coming to a close.

“I had a good time, Sephiroth,” Kuja said. “I wouldn’t mind coming back here soon to see you again.”

“I’ll see when I can make time in my schedule for you,” Sephiroth answered. He smiled with a kind gleam in his eyes, then hugged Kuja. Kuja hugged back and departed.

Midgar was a horrid city. It smelled rank, it was far too metallic, it was always too bright and the sun never shone through the upper sectors, and, worst of all, the numerous reactors messed with Kuja’s senses. He was supposed to be oriented toward Terra’s crystal at the center of their planet, but the 8 reactors surrounding him acted like iron-rich mountains on a compass and threw him for a loop. It certainly wasn’t helped that, to leave the city, he had to go down 49 floors to the bottom of the Shinra Building and _then_ out to the edge of the upper ring. Stars only knew how much he hated Midgar.

He got in the elevator and pressed the first floor button, then waited to be taken down and watched the count as he tried to steel himself for the next part. At least there was a bus that would take him to the slums, but he still had to trek across the wastelands to where his dragon awaited him. On foot.

The elevator stuttered. Kuja furrowed a brow and checked the maintenance date. It had been done just a month ago, so what had happened for the elevator to break down now? Was there a power surge? Had the city finally leached too much life away and started its inevitable implosion? Shame. He waited against the back of the elevator, leaning against the wall. Once it hit the first floor, the bell dinged, but the doors didn’t open.

“Hm?” He tried to force them open, used magic, found it to be of no use. Then the elevator shot downward.

_Definitely not good._ Kuja couldn’t sense much in this place, but he had noticed that there were too many people on the computer roster for those stored inside the building. It had to mean that there was something else going on. He pulled out his phone and tried to call Sephiroth, only to find there was no signal.

Not good at all. In fact, very bad. Kuja sighed. There was only forward, and thus this hero had to face whatever foe would seek to drag him into their lair. Shame they wouldn’t make it long~

Eventually the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Kuja walked out and looked around. He cast a spell to see more than the eye could see, intending to ascertain where enemies may be located — only for the spell to fail. That meant one thing.

_Just like Oeilvert. Does this person know of that place? Or did they create this on their own?_ Kuja turned around and went back to the elevator, pressed a button. Nothing happened. He rolled his eyes and stayed put, refusing to leave it and play whatever game was afoot.

“Whoever you are, come out and face me in person,” Kuja said. In response, several people dressed in suits appeared. He raised an eyebrow at the collection of weapons. These people were the Turks, then, the investigators for Shinra’s General Affairs Department. He had read up on them. It didn’t bode well to face such dangerous people here. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“I highly doubt rank and file mission-runners are the ones who summoned me through such underhanded means,” he said, leaning back against the elevator wall again. He flicked his hair.

“We’re here to take you to him. Come with us quietly.”

“Must I? Are you enforcing my right to remain silent? Does it still count as a right if I don’t have a choice?” Kuja asked, a haughty smile on his lips. The Turk who spoke narrowed her eyes and strode forward.

“Would you like my wrists for handcuffs?” He held his arms out in a joking manner. The Turk stood at the elevator door like a doorman.

“Come out, sir. Our boss would like to meet with you.”

“Your boss? What sort of place would the President be in that’s so far underground?” He could feel the crystal again, though the reactors were still screaming above him. He made no move to come forward, much to their annoyance. The Turk tilted her head at Kuja and two more came forward into the elevator, grabbing Kuja by the arms to take him out. Kuja tested to see how much effort they’d really put into bringing him in and lifted his legs so they had his full weight. Both grunted and almost dropped him.

“I thought you were strong. Well, I’m out. Are you happy now?”

“We need you to come with us.”

He was led without much more ado into the tomb that surrounded them. Kuja’s eyes narrowed as he tried another spell. The barrier was still up. How large was it? Where was its center? And could he break it?

Next spell to cast on himself once he got out of here: an anti-anti-magic barrier, nice and close to the skin, able to morph outward around a spell that he could fire off. That would be useful. He just needed to figure out how that would work logistically.

They traversed a couple hallways, then arrived in a large room with a high ceiling and covered end to end in lab equipment. There was a table in the center with a light over it for better view of the subject matter. They really ought to have had a couple more lights to counter shadowing issues. Kuja rolled his eyes. Midgar was advanced, sure, and they hadn’t even solved a simple problem of getting in the way of their own investigations.

“Ah, good! Kuja, you’ve come.”

“Unfortunately,” Kuja said. He looked upon the man who had spoken, a greasy looking scientist in the typical white labcoat, hunched over from perpetual desk work, long black hair in a thin ponytail, a froggish face. Well, the frog man seemed utterly unintimidating.

“Come here to the table,” the man said, failing to introduce himself, and also failing to hear Kuja, or else he was simply good at ignoring him. Both were possible. Kuja just wanted away from this man. He knew dangerous — hell, he’d measure easily on a scale of danger — but this man was dangerous _to him_ and he did not like that. If Kuja couldn’t find and break the anti-magic barrier… he would have to hope that Garland could heard him despite it.

“Tell me what Jenova is.” Kuja crossed his arms and didn’t move.

“Hah! So he mentioned Jenova, did he?”

“He did. He mentioned that she is his mother. What does that mean, exactly?”

“You’re not so naïve as to need a sex education lesson.”

“Don’t think me so stupid as to believe that a man with unnatural power and prowess is wholly human.”

The man paused and looked at him around the glasses. Scratch the frog idea, this man was a beetle. “You’re smart.”

Kuja didn’t answer his remark.

“Jenova is a special being, one which no one knows the full extent of except me.”

“Which would be?”

“I won’t be telling you, fool. Table. Now.”

“I would prefer not to. Out of curiosity, was Jenova the strange being that fell to Gaia some 2,000 years back? The one that some of the lifestream manipulators… what were they, Cetra? The one they had to fight and beat back into the frozen wastelands of the Northern Crater? How would such a being have ended up here?”

The man froze and glared at Kuja, whipping his glasses off. Kuja raised an eyebrow.

“I certainly hope you did nothing untoward toward it. It took quite some doing to get it to stop moving the first time around,” he said. While he may have been paraphrasing the words the Cetra had said and that Garland had recorded, he made sure to say it like he was there. He had to agree with Sephiroth, this man felt utterly subpar.

“Of course not. I merely took it in for experimentation.”

“Right, right. And what sorts of experiments? Anything that was actually revolutionary? Or are you truly as much of a Gast rip-off as it seems? Even his writings are more entertaining for scientific investigation than you’ve appeared to manage.”

“I am Hojo, the greatest scientist the world has ever known! _I_ created the greatest weapon of all time!”

“A fancy gun?”

“ _Your lover.”_

Kuja’s blood ran cold. “What do you mean?”

“I was responsible for the experimentation that went into creating Sephiroth from the ground up. Now get on the table!”

“Gladly, so long as you explain that in detail.” Please, whatever god might be watching, maybe Alexander, let it not be like him and Garland, because he knew that Sephiroth must have been organically born and if Hojo was implying something _more…_

Kuja did not like the idea of accepting any sort of genetic material from this man, no matter how diluted it may become.

“It was my genes that first formed him inside his mother’s womb.”

“Inside Jenova?” Kuja hazarded. It made sense. Jenova was his mother. He tried not to retch at the thought of being anywhere near this greasy creep’s DNA.

“Inside another, a lab assistant who allowed me use of her body to create the ultimate soldier. I improved upon the work of Dr. Hollander—“ Whomst? “— and created the perfect blend of both man and monster.”

“Hmph. So ready to proclaim such a thing,” Kuja said, rolling his eyes. “What monster could exist between two humans?”

“That’s where you’re missing information!” Hojo laughed.

“Enlighten me,” Kuja said.

“Table first~”

“I haven’t been told the details yet.”

Hojo’s face contorted in a grimace. Kuja regarded him coolly.

“I infused Sephiroth with Jenova’s genes to create a greater being than any before it.”

“Interesting.” Kuja’s heart was racing. This explained _so much._ “Is there more to know? Where is Jenova now?”

“Elsewhere,” Hojo said, waving his hand dismissively. Kuja shrugged and walked to the table. He couldn’t operate the elevator, the Turks wouldn’t just let him walk away. In the end, he really had no choice. Thus, Kuja settled on the table and crossed one leg over the other.

“Shall I lie down? Do you need a clean spot on my arm to draw blood?”

“I need what samples I can get of you,” Hojo said. Kuja checked his phone. No signal. Telepathy probably wasn’t going to work, either.

“Cheek swab, then? Hair? A small swatch of skin?”

“Fingernails, organs, whatever I can get,” Hojo added. Kuja did not like that. He narrowed his eyes.

“And how do you plan to get them, precisely?”

“By force, if necessary, but I doubt that’ll be needed. Lay down.”

Ah, there was the direction. Kuja lay down on the table and rolled his eyes as metal straps slid out and kept him down, one on the chest, one on the stomach, two over his boots and ankles. “May I ask where your anti-magic device is? Is it that spinning crystal over there?” He pointed with his hand as far as he could move it as Hojo came closer.

“Yes, it is. You should have tried to destroy it before.”

“I don’t see the point in expending useless energy. Unfortunately for you, you’ve miscalculated a few things.”

  
“And what could I have possibly miscalculated?” Hojo asked.

“One, my flexibility. Two, my aim. And three, the thickness of Alexandrian armor,” Kuja said simply. Hojo scoffed as Kuja’s leg shot out of its boot and took the Valentione gift knife out with it, then popped it into the air before kicking its blade directly into the crystal, dislodging the power source and causing a minor explosion that fried the lab systems. The room went dark, the straps disengaged, and Kuja hopped off the table.

“Get the lights on! We can’t let him escape!”

“Too late, I’m afraid,” Kuja said, reaching for Hojo’s head. He grasped it firmly by the face and looked in the dark to where Hojo was, listening with some pleasure at the man’s harried squeaks.

“My, are you scared?” Kuja asked. He snickered. Hojo tried desperately to free himself, to no avail. Kuja’s grip tightened. As the Turks around him threatened to shoot, he could only sigh. “ **Sleep**.”

They heard the thuds of several bodies all at once.

“There’s only one reason to restrict my magic, and that’s because you know you’d be in serious trouble if it came down on you.” He erected a quick shield over himself, then smirked as magic power lit up in his hand. Hojo could see the face of the Angel of Death, calm and menacing in this moment, the blue eyes, without any glow that Hojo knew exhibited clear strength, still stared him down without any care in the world.

It was in that moment that Hojo realized that his dream to be the greatest scientist who reached the greatest heights was about to come crashing down because of someone who had insulted him and also barely cared about his accomplishments, save for the one who also resented him and called him a bad scientist.

This was pathetic.

“ **Flare star** ,” Kuja said, almost boredly. The shot went off and destroyed Hojo’s head in his hand, splattering blood all over the place, as well as half his body. Kuja grimaced as he got covered in guts and tried not to vomit on his way out to the elevator. He didn’t make it far before leaning over and making more of a mess on his boots. Shame. His favorite victim thus far and now his least favorite kill. There was no way he was going to go home with half of him covered in blood and the other half trying to crawl away from the stickiness and sliminess.

Kuja approached the elevator, only to realize, to his dismay, that the power was out and it would thus not be operating. Sephiroth had mentioned it had an exit hatch in the ceiling… He reached up and found it, then popped it open and floated out. Now to find out how many “floors” he had dropped to get here. It couldn’t have been too many since Midgar was a floating city. As he rose, however, he realized that the elevator shaft had extended downward into a part of the ground that was generally blocked from the public. He could just make out power lines… Oop.

If all was well, that wouldn’t be something he’d need to deal with. He tried to call Sephiroth.

“Kuja? Are you okay? Did you make it out alright?”

“Hm? Out of where? Ah, the city. Not exactly. I ran into a little trouble. Mind if I stay with you?”

“Go ahead,” Sephiroth said. “You’ll need bedclothes.”

“And a bath. I’m covered in gunk I would prefer not to identify. I’ll be there soon.” Kuja hung up and tried not to think about it, tried not to touch himself. He summoned a water spell and cleaned off the worst of it, watching only for a second as organ bits fell back to the elevator below. Then he entered the underside of Midgar and ascended into its depths.

The shaft was as blank as the elevator had been, long as hell, and ultimately boring no matter how fast Kuja went. He accidentally shot past the first floor and realized he had little idea as to which shaft he had landed at. Then a door opened just overhead and he floated to it.

“We can get out of the tower, maybe,” someone said. Kuja popped up in front of him.

“What floor is this?”

“What the!? 49?”

“Good. Excuse me.” He landed on the carpet and walked past them. The SOLDIER who had opened the door looked him up and down.

“Dude you’re covered in blood —“

“Don’t remind me.” That was the last thing he needed. The halls were easy to navigate with a few balls of light, even as the SOLDIERS around freaked out in their squad bunks. He rolled his eyes at their lack of decorum and preparation for this eventuality. Midgar’s impregnability had fallen to pieces in a single shot and he couldn’t tell if it was wiping out the anti-magic barrier or the **flare star** that had done the trick. Either way, what a way to make a statement! Fuck Midgar! He chuckled darkly and arrived at Sephiroth’s door.

Sephiroth was reading with a flashlight in his mouth when a knock came to the door. He got up and opened it to find Kuja on the other side. Kuja closed his eyes.

“Oh.” Sephiroth took the flashlight out of his mouth and held it at his side, instead, illuminating enough of Kuja to understand the not wanting the gunk identified part of what he’d said earlier. “The water isn’t running.”

“Fucking fantastic. Step aside, I’m going to use magic.” Kuja went into the apartment and beelined for the bath, filling it quickly with a spell and heating it with another as he stripped down. Sephiroth waited for him to finish on the other side.

“So… What is all that blood from?”

“Your father,” Kuja said, scrubbing at it. He felt sticky still and tried again exasperatedly.

“What?”

“Ah, right. As it turns out, Hojo was your father genetically. He told me just before telling me he was willing to harvest my organs to make an improvement on his ‘greatest creation.’” Kuja rolled his eyes as Sephiroth busted the door open and whirled him around.

“Explain.”

“Sephiroth?”

“Explain.”

Kuja hid himself for a modicum of decency and gathered his thoughts. “He and a lab assistant of his provided the initial genetic material for your conception. Then he added the cells of Jenova, an extra-terrestrial being, to your blastocyte—“

“My what?”

“It’s a tiny collection of cells that precedes the embryo. The Jenova cells worked their way into you and bound themselves fully as you continued to replicate and grow.”

“How do you know this!?”

“Hojo told me just a few minutes ago.”

“Where is he now?” Sephiroth asked. There was a desperate look in his eyes. Kuja swallowed thickly.

“I… He…”

“Kuja!”

“I killed him. He’s on me.” Kuja tried not to retch, feeling the stickiness of blood all over again. He moved to scrub again but Sephiroth caught his hand. There was an anger in his eyes that Kuja had never before witnessed and he hoped he never did again.

“ _Why?_ ”

“Because he would have killed me, used what he could, made better soldiers than you!”

Sephiroth roared and threw Kuja back into the tub. Kuja’s head bashed on the wall and he sank into the water, legs over the side as he tried to get up. Sephiroth didn’t allow it, pushing on his sternum and pinning him where he was.

“WHY!?”

“He would have thrown you away!” Kuja didn’t bother struggling. He knew he’d never manage to overcome Sephiroth’s immense strength.

“Why did you kill him!?”

“I already told you!”

Sephiroth slammed him against the wall. Kuja coughed. “We’re going to go in circles if you don’t get to the heart of your question, so out with it! Why are you so angry he’s gone!? He was subpar!”

“He could have told me more!”

“I doubt he would have,” Kuja said quietly. “I’m sorry, Sephiroth.”

“You should be,” Sephiroth growled. He got up and spun about to leave.

“I’m sure there’s somewhere to find information. I’ll get answers for you.” Kuja got up and cast **cure** before finally getting out of the water. “I promise.”

“Why would you?” Sephiroth asked, turning at the door. Kuja walked across the small bathroom and pulled him close.

“Because you mean a lot to me. And because I owe you for what I did.” Even in this state, he could feel his tail and kept it under wraps.

“Why are you worried that he would throw me away?”

“… It’s nothing.”

“It isn’t nothing.”

“It’s _nothing_ ,” Kuja said pointedly. Sephiroth gave him a withering look. Kuja sighed.

“Garland.”

“He did that to you?”

“He did. I tried to remove Zidane and he got rid of me.”

Sephiroth pet him gently, calming down, himself. “I see. Even if I were thrown away, I’d have somewhere to go.”

“Where? SOLDIERs aren’t loved outside of Midgar City.”

“To you.” Sephiroth pushed Kuja’s hair out of his face gently. Kuja balked and blushed, then buried his face in Sephiroth’s shoulder.

“Even after what I did?”

“Help me find answers.”

“I will.”


	2. Self Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuja's a little shaken up.

Sephiroth pulled Kuja away. “I have a mission starting tomorrow. I’m to head out with Zack and another to Nibelheim.”

“Then I’m joining you,” Kuja said.

“You can’t. You’re a civilian.”

“And therefore not orderable. I’m going with you on your mission, purely out of coincidence~ I have answers to seek, after all.” Kuja smirked. Sephiroth chuckled and turned away.

“I’ll get you some clothes to change into.”

“Thank you.” Kuja blushed and turned around, himself. He wasn’t ready for that level of _vulnerability_ just yet, despite having been so up close and personal. When Sephiroth returned, it was to the sight of a plush amount of ass. He purred.

“What are you doing?” Kuja asked.

“Admiring the view,” Sephiroth answered. He handed the clothes over. It was a simple t-shirt and sweatpant set. “I was worried these might not fit, but I see I was mistaken.”

Kuja took the clothes and threw a sultry look over his shoulder. “Mmm~ They might be a little tight.”

“Do you need help getting dressed?”

“No, I don’t. Go on, get out. If we start now, I won’t let you back out until we finish and you have a mission tomorrow.” Kuja put the shirt on and fixed his hair, then stepped into the pants, praying his glamour was hiding his tail. He didn’t feel like explaining that right now, especially since Sephiroth knew so much about him already.

“Alright, alright.” Sephiroth chuckled and headed to his bed in the dark, navigating by his flashlight. Kuja followed soon after.

“There’s only one bed?” Kuja asked. It was like a story.

“There is. I have extra pillows we can use as a buffer,” Sephiroth said, though he really just wanted to rest his face on one of Kuja’s asscheeks. They looked comfy. Kuja hummed. While he had never spent the night next to Sephiroth before now, he figured it would be alright to cuddle up with him.

“Will we need them?” he asked, laying on the bed. Sephiroth looked at him, then shook his head and joined him.

“I suppose not.” He rested his forehead on Kuja’s, then lay down on his back and drew the covers up. Kuja joined him and nestled into his side, reveling in the warmth of him.

“You’re comfortable,” Kuja said. Sephiroth wrapped his arm around Kuja’s side.

“So are you. I’m sorry for losing my temper.”

“It wasn’t an unfounded reaction. Honestly, I’m touched that you were willing to be so expressive around me. You’re always so aloof in public.”

“You’re odd,” Sephiroth said. He snuggled Kuja closer and breathed in his scent. “You still smell like blood.”

“Ugh, I feel like I’m _covered_ in it! It won’t come off,” he groused.

“It takes time for the first one to come away. You’ve killed before.”

“From a distance. I’ve never…” He’d never been so close. He’d never gotten doused before.

“Kuja. Look at me.” Sephiroth tilted Kuja’s face up toward him. “You’ll be okay. You were in a bad situation.”

“I didn’t have to kill him.”

“You can’t change what you’ve done. Sit up.”

They sat up together and Kuja swallowed thickly, tried to swallow again, choked a bit, then sobbed. Sephiroth rubbed his back and held him. “Breathe. Breathe.”

Kuja breathed, regaining control of himself slowly.

“I’ll bathe you this time.” Sephiroth picked Kuja up and carried him in his arms. Kuja felt secure there as they moved to the bath once more. It was still dark. Kuja refreshed the water with a shaky hand.

“I-I’m…?”

“You’re having an attack.” Sephiroth stripped him down and put him in the tub. There was only room for one person, so he sat on the side and soaped Kuja up gently, then washed him.

“I… I…” Kuja stuttered and shook a bit.

“Take it slow.”

Kuja steadied his breathing again. “I had his head in my hand.”

Sephiroth paused. “That does make it messy. It’s effective all the same.”

“That doesn’t help how disgusting it was! There were _intestines_ on my _shoulders_!” Kuja’s tail lashed under the surface as he hissed. Sephiroth washed his shoulders and massaged them.

“Where else?”

Kuja shivered, then pointed to various spots where he could feel blood on him. Sephiroth worked at each one tenderly.

“How can you be so caring? You were made to be a killing machine, weren’t you? Raised in Shinra as a SOLDIER?” Kuja asked.

“I was also taught well by other people. You were alone.”

“I suppose so.”

“You mentioned Zidane. You should find him and take him in. It might… do you some good to have him around.”

“That’s insane,” Kuja said. He took a deep breath, then closed Sephiroth’s eyes and left the bath

“Maybe it is. You need someone in your life, someone more constant than me.”

Kuja regarded that and dried himself, put the clothes back on, pushed his nose into the fabric and smelled it. It smelled like Sephiroth.

“I don’t want anyone in my life but you.”

“That’s not healthy.” Sephiroth hugged him from behind. Kuja relaxed into his touch. “There are a lot more kinds of relationships than romantic.”

“Why would I bother with anything else?”

“For my sake?”

“… After your mission.”

“Alright.”

Sleeping this time was easier. Kuja nestled against Sephiroth’s side and felt a little more at ease. Now that he had had time to come to terms, he was able to handle what had happened a little better. Maybe he would have a better grasp of himself in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> writing the second chapter now, will post soon~


End file.
